Content Analysis
A quantitative, systematic technique for describing the manifest content of recorded communications.
Survey
A quantitative research method in which predetermined, formatted questions are distributed to relatively large numbers of people. Typically, respondents respond by phone, mail, e-mail, or website.
Focus Groups
A qualitative method -
Small group of people brought together to discuss a topic of interest to the researcher.
Why is research important?
answers questions, evaluates research
Decisions that a researcher makes before beginning a research project
The Field of Study - wide or narrow?
The Researcher - dispassionate or involved?
The Approach - objective or subjective?
Your Questions or Their Answers - specific answers or participants' language
The Sample - large or small?
The Data - quantitative or qualitative or mixed?
The Report - subjective or objective?
Know the basic purpose of the codes of ethics governing research on human subjects.
The primary purpose of ethics codes in human communication research is to protect research participants.
Judeo-Christian
do unto others..
Categorical Imperative
Behavior is valid if you are willing to see it applied as a universal rule
Principle of Utilitarianism - (Bentham, Mill, & Hume)
Suggests that research designs that may hurt a minority of people are justified if there is an overall greater good
Greatest good for the greatest number
Veil of Ignorance
A dispassionate approach where all sides of decision are equally reviewed
Nuremberg Code (1948)
The first international code to emphasize that:
-Participants must consent to research
-Research benefits must out weigh risks
Declaration of Helsinki (1964)
Established international ethical guidelines for medical professionals researching human subjects
Emphasizes that:
-Research protocols must be reviewed by an independent committee prior to the research
-Informed consent must be obtained from research participants
-Research must be conducted by medically or scientifically qualified individuals
-Research risks should not exceed benefits
The Belmont Report (1979)
Outlines 3 basic ethical principles surrounding research with human subjects
Autonomy
Individuals should be treated with respect.
Persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection.
Beneficence
Human subject must not be harmed, and efforts should be made to secure their well being.
Research should maximize possible benefits and minimize possible harm.
Justice
The benefits and risks of research must be distributed fairly.
Federal Policy for the protection of Human Subjects or "Common Rule
Dept. of Health & Human Services
Addresses requirements for ensuring compliance by research institutions, requirements for obtaining and documenting informed consent, IRBs, and special protections for vulnerable subjects (pregnant women, prisoners, minors, participants with disabilities)
Peer Review
Consists of qualified researchers with similar interests assessing each other's work.
Formal: IRB, editorial process of peer reviewed journals
Informal: networking, conferences, mentors
The American Psychological Association (APA) and Code of Conduct
Calls for any deception to be revealed to participants no later than the conclusion of data collection
Debriefing
The process of ensuring that research participants receive a follow-up explanation of the research when it is completed.
The Internet Research Ethics Dilemma
Human participants are being studied.
Consent of participants is therefore required.
versus
The web is published content.
Internet research is content analysis.
Consent of participants is therefore not required.
Advantages of Internet Research
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Disadvantages of Internet Research
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Guidelines for Internet Research
The more vulnerable the participants, the greater the researcher's obligation to protect them.
The more public the venue, the less obligation there may be to protect individual privacy, confidentiality, & right to informed consent.
Why are Literature Reviews done?
It's a narrative that pulls together research you have read into a rationale for YOUR study.
-Structure - chronological or pro/con.
-Format - introduction-body-conclusion.
-Cites all work you have read using a scholarly style such as APA, MLA or Chicago.
Primary Source
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Secondary Source
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Database
In the context of bibliographic research, collections of (mostly) scholarly articles that can be searched electronically.
Search Engine
Devices such as Google and Yahoo that retrieve information from the web.
Popular Publications
Articles published without a refereeing process, typically in newspapers and magazines, and targeted to a consumer public.
Scholarly Publications
Research papers that have been peer reviewed and published in academic journals.
Trade Publications
A journal published for a particular industry. The articles are written by experts but not necessarily to the standards of an academic research publication.
Information that you need to record from a source
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Relevant Information
Information that speaks to what your research is on (broad/specific)
Quality Information
Scholarly sources
- Credible
- Reliable
- Written to scholarly standards
Advantages of Observational Methods
-In-depth exploration of attitudes and behavior.
-Validity.
-Access to participants' views of phenomena.
-Provide insight and explanation.
Disadvantages of Observational Methods
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Similarities and Differences of Qualitative & Quantitative Research
Similarities
-Begin with qualitative observations
-Emphasis on precise reporting.
Differences
-Qualitative: reporting in words, understanding in depth, emphasis on participant perspectives, judgmental sampling.
-Quantitative: reporting in numbers, understanding in breadth, statistical sampling, generalizing from samples.
Observational Studies
A study based on observation of behaviors, not necessarily as in-depth as an ethnography.
(Qualitative)
Interviews
The qualitative process of asking questions of a respondent, usually face-to-face or by phone or video, to elicit information the researcher is interested in.
Ethnography
The study of human social behavior, typically with emphasis on description. (Qualitative)
�Focus on meaning and interpretation.
�Conduct research in participants' own settings.
�Engage directly with participants.
�Focus on local, individual, subjective knowledge.
�Record participants' own language, concepts and logic.
�Report results as detailed description
Unobtrusive Measures
Observations of people's behavior without them being aware of such observation.
Conversation Analysis
A research approach that analyzes the rules governing conversational interactions.
Focuses on social acts more than language.
Qualitative
Case Study
An informative narrative, history, or analysis to help readers with understanding or to provide them with theoretical or practical insights.
(Qualitative)
Descriptive Questions
Questions that ask informants to describe a phenomenon.
Ex: What is a typical_____ like, for you?
Contrast Questions
Questions that ask respondents to explain the difference between two or more things or concepts.
Prompts: 5 W's and an H
Questions that spark a response or further information from an interviewee, for example Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Fully Structures Interviews
Interview in which the researcher has determined what questions are important, the order in which they will be asked, and how they will be structured.
Semi-Structures Interviews
A set of interview questions that are largely predetermined but allow room for interviewees to add their own insights and views.
Unstructured Interviews
An interview with broad questions and a loose schedule of questions so that interviewees have the freedom to volunteer information and to explain their responses.
Gatekeepers
Those who control access to research participants or the publication of research results, for example employers and journal editors respectively.
Key Informants
The individuals who are part of a community being studied and who can introduce the researcher and legitimize the researcher's work to their community.
Descriptive Notes (Ethnography)
Detail of the human interaction and language, the raw data you're taking down .
Method Notes (Ethnography)
Records of the specific methods researchers use to gather data, for example direct observation and interviews.
Analytic Methods (Ethnography)
Notes a researcher writes as a way to make sense of or interpret the raw data or descriptive notes.
Ethnography of Communication - Dell Hymes
An approach to studying the communication behaviors of a group based on Dell Hymes's six basic units of analysis (speech community, speech situation, speech event, communicative act, communicative style, and ways of speaking).
Speech Community
A group of people who share a common language that differentiates them from other groups, for example a group of communication majors.
Speech Event
A specific speech activity, for example an awards speech.
Speech Situation
The overall scene of which activities are a part, for example a college classroom.
Communicative Act
The smaller units of speech within a speech event, for example asking a question or telling a joke.
Communicative Style
The speech style that is characteristic of someone, for example formal or informal.
Ways of Speaking
The styles of speech that are characteristic of a culture or group; for example, at the beginning of a class the instructor speaks before students do.
S.P.E.A.K.I.N.G
�Situation: where the communication takes place (Ex: A college classroom)
�Participants: who's there and what is their relationship (Ex: Students and Faculty)
�Ends: goals of the communication being studies/what is the purpose (Ex: Mastering the language of comm research)
�Acts: the language and behaviors that have meaning (Ex: Instructor demonstrating a specific research method)
�Key: the tone of the speech (Ex: Formal or friendly)
�Instrumentality: the channels of methods used to communicate (Ex: Online discussion group)
�Norms: The rules governing speech and it's interpretation (Ex: Students cannot ask questions until after the instructor has spoken)
�Genres: the traditional types of speech found in most cultures (Ex: Commencement speeches, funeral orations, lectures)
Qualitative Research Approach
-Focuses on individual meanings.
-Uses open ended questions.
-Collects data in participant's setting.
-Uses the an inductive approach to research that moves from particulars to general themes.
-Written report tends to be flexible in structure.
Quantitative Research Approach
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Mixed Methods Approach
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Philosophical World Views
Post positivist world view: quantitative
Constructivist world view: qualitative
Pragmatic: Mixed methods approach - use both for solving problems
Quantitative Research Designs
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Qualitative Research Designs
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Mixed Methods Research Designs
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Research Methods
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Quantitative Purpose Statements and Key Words
-Focus on relating or comparing the variables (independent, dependent, and mediating, moderating or control) and how these relate to: The participants, The research site
-Identify the proposed major variables in a study
-Discuss the intent of using the variables
Key Words: comparison, relationship between, describe,
Qualitative Purpose Statements and Key Words
Contains:
-The central phenomenon
-The participants
-The research site
-Non-directional
Key Words:
-Use neutral words and phrases, nondirectional language such as "self-expression experiences of individuals"
-Describe, understand, develop, examine the meaning of, or discover to convey how learning will take place
Mixed Methods Purpose Statements and Key Words
Contains:
-The overall intent of the study from a content perspective
-Information about both the quantitative and qualitative strands of the study
-A rationale for combining both quantitative and qualitative data
Indicate the type of mixed methods design
Qualitative Research Questions
-Ask 1-2 central questions, these should be broad and ask for an explanation of the central phenomenon or concept in the study. Here the intent is to explore the general factors relevant to the central phenomenon.
-Ask no more than 5-7 subquestions these will narrow the study but leave open the questioning.
-Relate the central question to the strategy of inquiry:
-Ethnography, questions verify accuracy of data
-Critical ethnography, questions build on an existing body of literature
-Phenomenology, questions broadly stated without specific reference to existing literature
-Grounded theory, questions generate a theory
-Begin with "what" or "how" to convey an open or emerging design
-Use exploratory verbs as nondirectional rather than directional words, like affect, influence, impact, determine, cause and relate
-Use open-ended questions without reference to the literature or theory
-Specify the participants and research site (unless stated previously)
Quantitative Research Questions
1.First, specify descriptive questions for each important variable
2.Next, state inferential questions that relate variables or compare groups
3.Finally, add questions in which variables are controlled
-Questions about the relationships among variables that the investigator seeks to know
-Use consistent words and ordering for independent and dependent variables
-Write questions or hypotheses, not both
-Consider 3 approaches to the variables for a question or hypothesis:
-Compare groups
-Relate variables
-Describe responses
-Specify questions and hypotheses based on theory if possible
-Measure the independent and dependent variables separately
-Generally use demographic information as intervening variables
-Use consistent words and ordering for independent and dependent variables
Quantitative Hypotheses
-If writing hypotheses, use a consistent form:
-Null hypotheses (predict no difference or no relationship)
-Alternative hypothesis or directional hypotheses (predict direction of difference or relationship)
-Nondirectional hypotheses (predict a difference or relationship, but not its direction)
-Use non demographic variables
-Use the same pattern of word order in the questions or hypotheses to enable a reader to easily identify the major variables
Fixed Coding
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Flexible Coding
-Start with theoretically informed categories that may change as new data come in
-Allows additional categories to emerge during analysis
-Allows for new categories to emerge rather than forcing every piece of info into preconceived categories or perhaps one additional and less-than-useful "other" category
Grounded Theory Approach (Qualitative)
-Start with no preconceived categories and to allow categories and theories to emerge as data analysis progresses
-Assumes theory will emerge as data analysis proceeds, grounded in data collected in study, form of qualitative research that studies people's experiences with a process and generates a theory.